


Nobody's Fault

by Anti_Climactic



Series: Whispers from the Land of Wind [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23651842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anti_Climactic/pseuds/Anti_Climactic
Summary: A little drabble, a discussion between loved ones illustrating some of the things war can do. Contains some backstory on the first version of Zila, in a verse where she grew up as a medic in Sunagakure.
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto) & Original Female Character(s), Gaara (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Whispers from the Land of Wind [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702834





	Nobody's Fault

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. I do, however, own Zila. Enjoy~

"I mean, I just don't understand why the Hokage wouldn't think to tell us you had been recovered. You bore the uniform of a Sand Shinobi during the war."  
Zila's heart sank at the thought of her friends here at home, having just returned from the battlefield after days, weeks even, of searching through rubble to find bodies. They had been looking for her; even just remains would have given them closure. But her father and sister, Niji, had come across her shattered body first, barely clinging to life, mere days after the fighting had stopped, and took her back to Konoha immediately.  
"You know why. To Konoha, I still had unpaid dues. War Crimes that had not been atoned for."  
"But you fought for the Allied Shinobi, you stood beside them! A medic, you made it so their troops wouldn't fall."  
"Gaara!" Temari's voice ran out as she sat forward on the sofa, "you know Zila did everything she could to return home. If she tried to avoid parole in the Leaf Village she would have worsened her odds of ever getting back at all."  
The Kazekage's head fell, and his hands rose up to meet it. She had only been back a few days, and he was grateful, however there were so many questions burning through his skull.  
Zila moved closer to him, a hand resting on his shoulder. His body was still and rigid, unaccepting of comfort right now. "I know you're not happy with how this all turned out. I'm home now, though, is that not good enough?" Her eyes rested upon his lips, parted as if to speak, but no words came to be.  
"I'm sorry," she murmured, squeezing his shoulder.  
Much of Konoha had forgotten or forgiven her crimes in the time she spent working under Kakashi as an ANBU Black Ops agent. Were it not for her and Niji, the city wouldn't have recovered from the throes of war as rapidly as it had. The pair had even grown close to many of the elite soldiers representing the Leaf.  
But her father knew she belonged in Suna, and so she was pardoned and released after over two months of mission after mission for a village she felt little connection to.  
"Don't be sorry," Gaara finally responded, his voice much softer than it had been. He had to realize that none of this was her fault, that all of it was out of her hands and altogether out of anyone's control.  
She had been kidnapped, she had been forced to commit atrocities under the guise of an Akatsuki member, even though she was just a girl they misguidedly saw potential in.  
She had been thrown in prison to rot by Danzo, and had taken a fall to lessen Niji's sentence by exacerbating her own.  
She had also nearly ruined her chances of freedom to secure the release of her sister.  
And when war erupted, she time and time again threw herself in the face of annihilation for the soldiers around her, falling into the ranks as both a field medic, and a worthy opponent against the ones that threatened the very existence of all Shinobi.  
In the end, she would have gladly given her life to protect the injured. She fully intended to as she enclosed as much earth as she could manage above her head to shield herself and those around her from the meteor strikes Madara had summoned. That had been the last anyone from Sunagakure had seen of her.  
But Gaara was clearly not the only one who had been suffering all this time.  
"I am glad that you're back." He lifted his head to meet her eyes, lips pulled into a reassuring smile, one which Zila found rather infectious.  
Kankuro and Temari shared a meaningful look.  
"So am I."  
"Me too, magic hands."  
"Kankuro, you always have to ruin the moment, don't you?"


End file.
